Let the Internship Times Begin!

It’s bittersweet that my semester is ending, but I’m excited to embark on a new and continued journey in Shanghai during my IES Internship Summer program. Although the program will consist of different people, different daily routines and experiences, I don’t doubt that my time in Shanghai will be just as wonderful and exciting. I have committed to interning with a Leadership Coaching and Consulting firm called MindSpan over the summer. I spent some time during my spring semester interviewing with different companies and learning about various opportunities available in Shanghai and settled on MindSpan. I worked with the IES internship coordinator and several other supervisors to figure out a position that seemed to satisfy both my wants as well as the company’s needs. Although I’ve had previous internship experience prior to this one, I am looking forward to getting a taste of the working environment in China and expanding my understanding of what I may want to do post-graduation and whether I could see myself working in Shanghai, or abroad in general, after my four years at Lafayette comes to an end.

During internship I’ll be living in the New Harbor Service Apartments again, which is wonderful because I already know the area so well and feel comfortable navigating the metro station around 大世界(Dà shìjiè), which is the closest metro station to our apartments. I’m looking forward to being able to share my travels, good dining spots, and other tidbits of information with the other kids on my program since I’ve already had three months of experience to figure out a few things while living here. I had never been to Shanghai before when I came at the end of February so I know exactly how daunting it is to be dropped in a foreign city and try to navigate your way around, while speaking a foreign language. But this time, I think it’ll feel comforting to already been settled in by the time my internship starts.

I’ll be working with MindSpan Monday-Thursday from June 25-August 4, as well as taking an internship seminar course with the rest of the kids on my program to learn about and address issues in the workplace, such as time management, conflict resolution, and other key transferable skills for any job or internship. I also opted into taking a Chinese course throughout the summer. Part of my reason for interning in China was not only to get experience in a job setting, but also to continue studying Chinese and learn relevant terms in hopes of being able to speak with my supervisor in Chinese and learn applicable business vocabulary. I already feel like my Chinese has improved since coming to Shanghai and I hope that with two weeks of intensive language classes and then my optional Chinese class, my Chinese will only continue to get better!

I don’t exactly know what to expect for my internship, just as I didn’t know what to expect when classes started in the spring, but if you couldn’t already tell, I’m excited for my extended stay in Shanghai. I just hope that the high temperatures and humid levels don’t leave me in a puddle of sweat before heading back to the States at the end of August.